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Give More, and Give Up Less

Are you, like me, in the service business? Have you been looking for some “expert” advise on how to earn more money, without giving up your life?

I’ve started taking advise from some of the experts, like Seth Goden, Pamela Bruner, Jack Canfield, Ray Edwards, Brendon Burchard, and a host of others about how to do just that. This is “my take” on what it takes. And, what I’m doing to move my business in the direction I want to go. No, it’s not a book, just a quick blog post for busy readers to consider.

It seems as simple as A, B, C. BUT…it takes dedication.

A) Give MORE

Give more information — BUT be specific. Ask more questions of those you serve. Find out what they really need; what drives them; what keeps them awake at night; what they want to bring into the world, or what they don’t want in their world anymore. If you’re working with large groups, that can seem daunting, but there may be far more similarities in their needs than you think. Provide possibilities, different ways of accomplishing what they want in their own way, with their own style, and at their own pace.

Give more understanding and compassion. In business as in all of life, nurturing will help your clients prosper. And when they prosper, they’re more inclined to shine a light on you to help you prosper as well.

Give of yourself. Everyone has challenges. Talk about your dreams, your passions, your determination, and what you’ve gone through to get to where you are — whether you’re at the top in your field, or still on the 2nd rung. Let them know they’re not alone in facing fears — fear of failure, fear of success, fear of financial disaster, fear of ridicule…need I go on? The list of successful people who faced everyone of those fears and kept going beyond…to success…is lengthy indeed.

B) Give Up Less

Give all that was mentioned before to yourself first. THIS is the tricky part. We all get so caught up in believing we “aren’t good enough, don’t know enough, aren’t worth enough, can’t possibly help enough” to be of the value that you want to attain; like earning a good living by helping others. So. Give yourself the information you need to understand your value — your unique perspective, your subject expertise, perhaps your years in the field, and/or your education. All of this is worth something…most likely far more than you are seeing.

Treat yourself with understanding and compassion. How can YOU possibly grow your business without nurturing yourself? Be demanding of your time management, set objectives with measurements. Then, nurture yourself with “success” parties all day, every day. That means being present, being aware of who you are, what you bring to the world, and what you’re doing NOW that is helping others. See obstacles as stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks.

Give to yourself. The part of time management that most entrepreneurs forget is to set aside time for themselves. Meditation, exercise, proper diet, time for family and friends…all of these things need to be a part of managing your time. I could tell you about all of the studies that show much more productive you are, and how much added value comes from taking care of yourself, but you already know this, right? Even when you don’t remember to do it.

C) Keep GOING

Yes, be the Energizer Bunny. Be the optimist. Be the one who won’t give up. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, you’re in the right place. Whether you’re helping one other person, or tens of thousands of people every day, there will be moments of discouragement; moments when you want to give up. Don’t. Remind yourself whenever you reach that point that it truly is darkest just before the dawn, or whatever else it is you need to say to yourself to keep going. Don’t just write a life story. Write a GOOD life story. One that at its end, you can truly say “I made a difference.” Making a difference in one life makes a difference in every life that person touches.

Share. It matters. Everyone can teach someone else something. To teach is to learn. So…if you want a better life, teach.